Equinor has named the nurse who died as a result of a helicopter accident off the coast of Norway as 61-year-old Reidun Hestetun from Bergen.
Ms Hestetun, who lived locally and worked as a nurse for state-backed oil firm, died as a result of the incident involving a Bristow S-92 search and rescue chopper on Wednesday evening.
Equinor confirmed on Thursday that Ms Hestetun’s next-of-kin had been notified.
She was aboard the helicopter with five other crew employed by Bristow while conducting a training exercise when the Sikorsky aircraft ditched in the sea near the Norwegian island of Sotra.
Statements from Norwegian operators suggest the incident occurred during “low-altitude training flights” associated with vessel/boat hoisting.
All six occupants, including its two pilots, were recovered and transferred to Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen.
Read further details on the incident below.
According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK one man remains seriously injured, but is no longer in a critical condition. Two men remain in hospital with minor injuries, while a further two have been discharged.
Bristow managing director, Heidi Wullf Heimark, said a third patient is expected to leave hospital today.
‘Humble, caring, and tough at the same time’
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with the family and friends who have lost their beloved Reidun in this tragic accident. In Equinor, we mourn the loss of a close and dear colleague.
“We extend our deepest condolences to family and friends during this difficult time.”
The company said her close colleagues described her as a highly skilled and reliable SAR nurse with high personal integrity.
It added she was “humble, caring, and tough at the same time”.
Colleagues point out that she always took time to help others when they needed it. Equinor said “she was someone who people listened to, and someone who many felt they could confide in”.
© Supplied by Facebook/Reidun HestAnne-Britt Holmedal, an ex-manager of offshore nurses at Equinor who worked with Ms Hestetun, told Sykepleien: “I knew her well and had the pleasure of being her manager for several years.
“She was a wonderful person in every way. She was not only professionally skilled, but also human. The death affects me deeply.”
Norwegian police have reportedly interviewed two of the crew on board the helicopter, as of an 11am statement on Friday morning, but did not provide details of their statements.
Search for wreckage underway
The Norwegian Safety Investigation Authority (NSIA) has sent investigators to Bergen and to the helicopter operator’s main base in Stavanger on Thursday, and a recovery operation is already in motion.
The NSIA has said it hopes to find the helicopter wreckage on Friday, though at the time of writing had yet to pinpoint its exact location. Efforts may also be hampered by weather conditions, searchers said earlier.
An offshore vessel – the Normand Ocean operated by DeepOcean – has been secured to aid the search, and will sail from Haugesund to the accident site on Friday afternoon.
© Supplied by DeepOcean“The intention is to start the search as soon as possible, but it takes some time to prepare such an offshore vessel. We are relatively busy, and want to find it as soon as possible,” NSIA director of aviation Kåre Halvorsen told NRK.
Mr Halvorsen said sourcing the helicopter’s black box flight recorder is “priority number one.”
The NSIA said it hopes it may be able to raise the wreckage over the weekend.
Meanwhile, helicopter operations in Norway have resumed, having been suspended on Wednesday evening and Thursday in the wake of the incident.
Operators said on Friday there are “no indications” that helicopter safety across the wider sector is reduced.
Some UK flights were also briefly paused, but restarted on Thursday.
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